In 2021 we are shining a spotlight on Chagas disease, the suffering it causes and are calling for equitable access to health care and services for everyone affected by the disease. The theme for 2022 is finding and reporting every case to defeat chagas disease. In many countries, there are low detection rates (<10%, frequently <1%) and frequent barriers to access adequate healthcare.
Chagas disease is prevalent among poor populations of continental Latin America but is increasingly being detected in other countries and continents.
It is often termed as a “silent and silenced disease” as the infected majority have no symptoms or extremely mild symptom. There are approximately 6-7 million people infected with Chagas disease worldwide, with 10,000 deaths, every year.